Manaslu Circuit, Samagaon to Samdo

Portaloo?

19th October. Samagaon (3530m) to Samdo (3860m)

Manaslu

Another stunning view of Manaslu this morning.

Colourful shrubs

Carved stone

Low bridge

Flowers, Ahh

Quality building

Our accomodation at Samdo was rather basic, but comfortable enough.

Samdo rooftops

Long way down

After lunch, some of us went for a little acclimatization walk up the hill behind the village.

Even longer way down

Steep slope, no wonder it was tough going

Yakkety Yak

Samdo real estate

Manaslu Circuit, rest day! Samagaon to Manaslu Base Camp (and back)

Manaslu sunrise

On our rest (acclimatization) day some of us walked up to Manaslu Base Camp (4400m)

Yak herders huts

A long climb of almost 1000m and by now we were beginning to feel the altitude.

Going up

Looking down to Samagaon

Are we nearly there yet?

Large bird, unidentified. Eagle?

Nearly there, Manaslu in the distance

It's a long way back down now

Panorama from basecamp

Basecamp team photo

Manaslu

Nearing the end of the descent

Manaslu Circuit, Lho to Samagaon

Early morning light at Lho

17th October

Manaslu and the ruined monastery

Lho (3180m) tp Samagaon (3530m)

Carved stones on a Mani Wall

Crossing a loose slope

Colourful views

Colourful Paintings

Approaching Samagaon

Haystack boulder

The shop that sells everything, particularly eggs

Flasks of all sizes, anyone for tea?

Carved stone on Mani wall

The clouds come in, where are those mountains?

Walking back to Samagaon after an evening stroll

Moonrise over Manaslu

Manaslu Circuit, Namrung to Lho

Farming with a view

16th October 2015.

Sunrise over the mountain

Namrung (2660m) to Lho (3180m).

Bridge out of Namrung

Another fine and sunny day, enjoyable walking conditions although too hot for some.

Flowers of some sort.

Terracing

Some earthquake damage still scattered about, but repair work seems to be going ahead in places.

Stumpa painting

The paintings in this Stumpa had been recently restored with vibrant colours.

Stumpa painting 2

Fresh building materials arrive daily, by foot!

Hauling roofing materials

Lho

As we arrived at Lho we could see a monastery on the hill side above the village, from a distance it looked impressive and intact.

Earthquake devastation at a monastery

Unfortunately, when we went to look, it was evident that this was not the case and it had been very badly damaged.

Details from a ruined staircase

Sadly, we were told that one monk had died in the 'quake, the others had survived but had had to move out. A few were still living locally but many had been moved to Kathmandu.